Is the scanned image in Bitmap or Grayscale? Image|Mode will tell. If it’s bitmap, change it to grayscale and it’ll work.
Peace,
Tony
Hi Tony,
I did try changing the image from Bitmap to Grayscale but the change in the image will not "take" when I click OK.
Is there something else I can try? I have tried converting it from 8 bits to 16 bits, to RGB, to CMYK…no luck.
Thanks for your help.
Thomas,
We have a terminology problem, so in order to help, a little more information is required.
If your image was scanned in as a B/W image, my presumption was that it was scanned in as a Bitmap. Bitmap images are either black or white, there’s no shades in between, unless it’s a Windows BMP file. Many scanners allow you to set what type of scan you’re going to do. For example, if it’s a page of text, you want Bitmap (usually) so that the text is crisp and if you’re going to do OCR, the OCR engine can read this.
My initial inclination is that you probably scanned this line drawing in with your scanner settings set to "line art" or Bitmap. That would produce an image that is just two colors, black and white.
I just checked, and if it WAS a bitmap, you cannot adjust Brightness or Contrast. You don’t even get the menu choice to adjust, virtually, anything.
So something’s not right in the pool so to speak.
If you do Image|Mode it tells you what mode the image is currently in. That’s the first thing to check. If it’s a black and white line drawing, setting it to grayscale will enable features such as adjusting contrast and brightness.
Next, HOW are you trying to adjust brightness and contrast? Image|Adjustments?
Next, realize that when an image is not at 100% magnification, all other representations of the image are approximations. That means that what it looks like with the dialog box open at 33% may not be what it looks like after you accept the changes.
The BEST way to evaluate whether or not it’s "taking" is to evaluate it at 100% magnification. The "test" if you will, for whether or not your change was really applied, is after you accept your changes in the B/C dialog, zoom to 100%. Then use your history palette and chekc "before" and "after".
If you’re still having trouble, no worries, there are lots of folks who can help.
Peace,
Tony
Tony, Thanks for you effort in assisting me. I am somewhat new to Photoshop so I may not have explained everything clearly.
The image I received was scanned by someone else. The original was light colored so, although it was possible scanned as line art, lines are not continuous, but are comprised of dots separated by white space.
When I opened the file, I checked Image|Mode. It was set to Bitmap. I changed Image|Mode to Grayscale. At that time Brightness/contrast was enabled. But I could not get it to change.
I have since tried changing the Grayscale to
1. 16 bits/channel
2. CMYK
3. RGB
All in an effort to get the faint lines darker by changing Contrast.
If there is another way to do it, I would be willing to try that too.
BTW, the scanned image is of a CAD drawing and the drawing size is 24"x36".
Thanks again!
Okay.
That’s good info. Based on your description, it WAS bitmap. Also with an image that size, don’t forget to make your evaluation at 100%, otherwise you’re not looking at an accurate representation.
There are lots of ways to get the lines darker in Photoshop. First, unless you need color, or have another reason to keep it in RGB, my personal preference would be to keep it in grayscale mode.
One of my favorites ways to do darken the lines is by usning Apply Image. There are also a couple of ways to do that, but we’ll just try one.
Use the menu Image|Apply Image. You will see a dialog. Set Blending Mode to Multiply, Opacity 100%, then accept the dialog. You can do this multiple times.
If you don’t like that way, there is Image|Adjustment|Levels (Ctrl-L). There you’re presented with a histogram of the image with three sliders at the bottom. The one on the right represents the whiter pixels in the image, and the one on the left represents the blacker pixels. The one in the middle represents gray values.
Slide the one on the left toward the center and do the same with the right.
Whether or not this latter method will work well depends on the distribution of pixels. IOW, your mileage may vary with this method.
Those are a couple of methods. Try them see what you like. If you don’t get the results you like, there are other things you can do, but it gets more complex.
Peace,
Tony
